On Saturday night, the Kansas City Chiefs advanced for the sixth consecutive season to the Divisional Round of the playoffs by defeating the Miami Dolphins 26-7.

Ten of Miami’s eleven drives were held scoreless by Kansas City, which scored on its opening possession and never looked back, despite the No. 2 scoring offense in the NFL.

Punter Patrick Mahomes stated, “I truly would not want to play on our defense.” “The difficulty of matching their performance during training camp convinced me that they were exceptional. I thought to myself, “Man, I’m glad I don’t have to face those guys; that would be difficult.”

Undoubtedly, the Chiefs’ defense exhibited exceptional performance of the season, even in the face of subzero temperatures that accompanied the game. Indeed, the kickoff temperature for Saturday’s match was the fourth-coldest in NFL history, measuring -4 degrees. In spite of these circumstances, the Chiefs’ defense limited Miami’s potent ground game to 76 yards on the ground. Miami averaged 135.8 yards per game during the regular season.

Linebacker Nick Bolton stated, “I believe it has to do with doing it with your eyes, keys, alignments, and assignments locked in.” “We had faith and trust in our teammates to do their job [on the backend] so that we could lock in and do ours.”

This unity assisted the Chiefs in limiting Miami to a season-low seven points and a 1-for-12 figure on third downs, thereby preserving a lead that was methodically extended by Kansas City’s offense in the final minutes of the game, assisted by four field goals from kicker Harrison Butker.

On the Chiefs’ opening drive, Mahomes completed 23 of 41 passing attempts for 262 yards and a touchdown, connecting with rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice for an 11-yard score. It was indicative of further achievements by Rice, who caught eight passes for 130 yards and contributed to the team’s field goal with several crucial touchdowns, including a catch-and-run of 39 yards that advanced the chains on third down.

“I don’t think they were anticipating us throwing the ball quite as much as we did, but we were able to come out and sling it,” according to Head Coach Andy Reid. “A lot of quarterbacks can’t do what [Mahomes] did in that kind of weather.”

Additionally, Rice made franchise history with the most fruitful performance by a rookie in terms of receiving yards and receptions.

“It feels fantastic. “My primary objective is to secure a victory; all else merely coincides with that,” Rice stated. “I look forward to putting my name down as much as I can in this program and to stay here.”

Although the weather was chilly, Rice was among a number of Chiefs players who maintained a discernible edge and vitality for the duration of the contest. Undoubtedly, another participant in the game who accomplished this feat was tailback Isiah Pacheco, who ran for 89 yards and scored a touchdown.

Pacheco’s touchdown, which concluded a fourth-quarter, 14-play, 72-yard drive, effectively put the game away by increasing the Chiefs’ advantage to 19 points.

Everything contributed to the Chiefs’ 12th playoff victory since 2018, extending a streak in which they have advanced to the Divisional Round in each of those seasons. The Chiefs’ opponent for the following weekend will be determined pending the outcome of the Buffalo Bills’ game on Monday afternoon.